Lonely Planet, one of the world's largest travel guide publishers, recognized Lithuania as the second best tourist destination in 2025 among the 10 must-visit countries in the world and the first country in Europe. In the famous ranking of travel destinations of this publisher, which is eagerly awaited by travelers from all over the world every year, Lithuania was overtaken by only Cameroon.
The experts who awarded Lithuania the second place in the ranking especially singled out four points of its attraction. This is a green, vibrant, modern Vilnius with a unique history and a modern bar and restaurant scene. Also - the Curonian Spit National Park, which is impressive at all times of the year, the Mount of Crosses, which attracts pilgrims from all over the world, and the Aukštaitija National Park, which invites you to immerse yourself in the wild nature.
"Despite the geopolitical challenges, Lithuania has recently made a huge breakthrough in economy, innovation, technology, culture, sustainability and other areas. It can be said that the recognition of "Lonely Planet" is a natural and logical continuation of this process", says the Minister of Economy and Innovation Dawn Armonaitė. She notes that this evaluation is not only an honor, but also a commitment to work even more actively in foreign markets, to intensify cooperation with potential partners even more.
According to VšĮ "Travel in Lithuania" manager Olga Gončarova, this recognition is a particularly significant assessment not only of Lithuania's tourism infrastructure, but also of culture, nature, gastronomy and other spheres.
"Getting on Lonely Planet's recommendation list means meeting extremely high selection criteria and the expectations of many experts." The variety of criteria and the solid selection process mean that this rating is trusted by the multi-million audience of "Lonely Planet", says O. Gončarova. - We are extremely happy about this well-deserved recognition of Lithuania. This is an assessment of every person in Lithuania who is creating a more beautiful and happier country. Meanwhile, this encourages us to work even more actively with foreign markets and attract as many fans of high-quality, sustainable and responsible tourism to Lithuania as possible."
Fiji, Laos, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu, Slovakia and Armenia were also included in Lonely Planet's recommendations for the coming year.
In the rating compiled by "Lonely Planet", not only tourism infrastructure and quality of services, safety of countries, price-quality ratio, but also uniqueness and authenticity, sustainability and responsibility are evaluated. The rating often reflects new tourism trends - regions or countries that have recently become popular or offer completely new tourism experiences. Specials are also important events or events that can attract the attention of travelers: international sports events, anniversaries, cultural festivals.
The list of recommended countries to visit is compiled annually by Lonely Planet's in-house editorial team and a global network of travel experts and authors. First of all, Lonely Planet journalists, guides, local experts present their recommendations on which countries deserve special attention in the near future. The received recommendations are reviewed and evaluated according to the above-mentioned criteria by a special "Lonely Planet" editorial commission.
The evaluators also take into account the principle of diversity: the list aims to include both well-known tourist attractions and lesser-known destinations. The principle of diversity is also important in forming a global circle of experts: for example, this year the experts included people with disabilities, promoters of responsible tourism, and representatives of the LGBTQIA+ community.
After the entire evaluation process and discussions, the editorial team forms a final list of recommended countries, which is published in Lonely Planet's annual guides and platforms that generate as many as 186 million visitors. readership. It costs nothing for the countries included in the list of recommendations - every time the news of inclusion in the TOP list becomes a pleasant surprise for the countries.
The second place in the "Best in Travel" country ranking is the highest rating Lithuania has ever received in the elections organized by "Lonely Planet". Lithuania entered this list for the first time a decade ago: our country took third place in the list of recommended travel destinations for 2015. in 2018 "Lonely Planet" guide included Vilnius in the top ten most recommended places to visit in Europe.
